##VIDEO ID:A4filHODsuY## order please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance I pledge aliance to the flag of the United States of America for it stands one nation under God indivisible with liy and justice for all adequate notice of this meeting of the Long Hill Township Board of Education was given as required by the open public meeting act as follows notice was sent to the echo Sentinel and daily record on October 14th 2024 notices were posted on the bulletin board in the first floor entrance hall of the School District administration building Gillette New Jersey notices were filed with the Township Clerk and notices were mailed to all persons who have requested individual notice pursuant to the open public meetings act roll call please Mrs Butler here M daily here Mr Foster Mr grov here Dr Mo here Mrs M here nist here Mrs case here thank you uh first on the agenda is the presentation the ssds results yeah this is just an informal presentation of the semiannual student safety data system also known as ssds report um we changed the table slightly to make the reasons for the suspensions clearer for this reporting uh period we're very fortunate again this reporting period have so few incidents and nothing of a serious nature in terms of violence or vandalism we had five suspensions at the middle school for a total of seven days 5 and a half out of school suspensions one and a half in school suspensions no hibs during the reporting period which is a credit to our students and staff for ensuring an inclusive environment and I'll just knock wood right now that that's going very well but what what's covered in other I'm looking at the chart yeah uh anything that doesn't fit into the categories yeah oh okay those St categories but it's really just a report on the total number of student removals for disciplinary reasons I can't figure out what what what would not fit in I apologize because it looks like all the others would cover it right was there one that was uh was it ever defined as something that's other than this it's it's specifically there are narrow definitions about things and vandalism is one of the things that you know uh identifies we had two incidents that fell into that category and then three others um that aren't identified either as vandalism or violence or weapons thankfully you know weapons but what would be that other well let me I'll give you an example of something like uh a a theft that into a c got thank you very much okay okay any other questions okay all right Communications um I'll just turn over to Super Alexis sure sure yeah u m Mr Estes notified us that he decided to step down from his elected position on the board um due to a change in personal circumstances incuding including an increase in personal and professional obligations um he realized uh because of that change in circumstances he cannot devote the proper time and attention that the board and the district deserve um we have advertised the vacant position on the website and an email blast went out on Thursday notifying the community of the vacancy we plan to interview candidates at the March 17th board meeting okay thank you okay board committee and liaison reports we will start with Karen okay um the Mars County Ed Services Commission we met virtually on January 8th the big things are uh and Robin has received the new rates of uh for their services for this year um they've had to raise the tuition on the Central Park School they're just about in the middle of the I don't know 16 schools that they've identified like EC a banion etc etc so they're not the most expensive nor are the least expensive i' had mentioned before that um about the attempt to purchase the Central Park School from the state and lo and behold it's coming to a we're getting a closing so it will be their property and that that opens up to them the ability to provide a wider array of services because under the state control they were restricted to just having that school there so to speak so they're they're already talking to neighboring school districts Etc uh the next meeting will be on February 12th and I will attend that virtually uh governance met and um we went over the uh RSVPs at the time there were several that already been received I'm I hope I'm hoping they keep coming in and um we're going to look into or Georg is looking into more General publicity outside of I'll call it the school Community uh we finalize the committee chair guidelines I'll comment on that something on that in in the policy part because I'm going to I'm giving that for uh just in today uh we discussed reorganization and onboarding new members and and right now it's identified the vice president as serving as the mentor and that's going to be an ongoing discussion about what we would do in terms of making it easier and uh well just easier for the new board member um governance role one of the things we talked about was checking in with the Committees uh we want the Committees to feel like governance is really a help you know not just there so for the chairs that are having a a experience with the new committee you know how is it going have you been able to set your meetings up uh or any other difficulties or you know just concerns and um we are going to I am going to go through um and just see how uh we've got to be I guess more diligent about meetings and the minutes of the meetings and the agenda items so we're going to see if we can't work on that uh just so that you know or remember in April our board meeting will start at 5:30 it will include the early piece will include a half hour of Ethics training delivered by Charlene and then the other hour and a half is going to be a review of the committee goals like we did before which we did last year one time and we're doing it twice we're going do wi April and then we'll do it again in later on in the year um there's a new self- evaluation tool it is still not available so don't have any anything to report on that just to let you know what it is okay Finance uh we reviewed uh the responsibilities as identified on the website and agreed they were complete and okay as is um and that's something I should have brought up into governance that's really important that the Committees look at the responsibilities that are published just to make sure that they you're doing what they say that you should do and you're not doing something that another committee maybe should be doing we found that out with governance so I'm just saying you from experience as what should be going through in terms of cusac you all heard and you know read in George's update that had a walk through with uh someone we all know Dr RAR who uh is the interim County uh ba it went well on again on February 12th uh will be uh I guess the final final meeting and the qac committee will be meeting with the reviewers first and then they go on and do whatever they have to do which includes uh getting a sampling of different documents that they can just request there's nothing that comes ahead of time but I I guess I should note prior to even them coming here I don't know a hundred or more documents were already provided them remotely for them to review so they've gotten a lot of information already with respect to Food Service you know things are constantly being adjusted and adapted the biggest thing deals with free and reduced and there were emails texts letters many reminders of the parents that they have the responsibility to order the food beginning in February and or February 3rd which is today and um after that they will periodically check they will not let you know child go hungry but they will not be you know when I say they we will not be ordering the food for the child it'll be the responsibility of the guardian or the parent to do that uh if there's like a uh how should I say several days in a row they might get a reminder call or a reminder text but it's not going to be you know something that they just do or out of you know just regularly um being report on things associated with Central School ramen's going to report on the rod grants with respect to our favorite subject the budget we reviewed the budget timeline obvious it's not that different from last year uh there will be a board meeting for the preliminary Budget on March 17th and prior to that you're going to get a copy of the preliminary budget and a video presentation and Robin is going to go into when she gives a talk oh when she gets a CH opportunity speak about um let's call it some of the changing or I should say the impactful items that are going to be hitting our budget and some of the things that we'll be faced with uh on the agenda you're going to see several items for approval about of the over of 44,000 limit um you're going to see something associated with the disposition of obsolete books and it's just important to note that the business office will be reaching out to California Sorcerers before anything is you know like tossed to see if they can use any of the materials and um right now a school nurse will be uh be present during the force activities the bills lists were reviewed and I mean like we're talking minor minor something less than $4 and number that was on the order or the check number on the check didn't match the check number on the sheet that you get the review sheet and it just the review sheet just had to be changed it was minor otherwise all the bills are good to go and that's that with respect to policy okay here we go 6147 there were no changes that's standards of proficiency that with respect to CL class size uh basically there was some language that was changed to make it clar to clarify it a little bit more if anything uh we're more restrictive uh because we do go from uh I should I say it more conservative class sizes in our district so that was identified uh there were cross in policy 6156 instructional planning and scheduling there were C references that were not in our policy so that was they were removed if we don't have the policies in our manual we can't cross reference them obviously evaluation and selection of instructional materials it's a mandated policy so the head header had to be changed and the important thing there was um and this is work Melissa had done she reviewed the statute and uh it's specifically identified or was identifying with middle school and high school so she that language was further clarified in our policy and there was also a reference to um I I'll read I'll read the the statement and like I this is mandated and it's state required and how should I put it yeah this is the way it's got to be worded a board of education shall include instruction on the political economic and social contributions of persons with disabilities and lesbian gay bisexual and transgender people in an appro a place in the curriculum of middle school and high school students as part of the district's implementation of the New Jersey student learning standards legal references were update uh complaints regarding instructional materials there were no changes to that policy Community Resources the legal references were updated media Cent a library policy no changes child study team had some grammar changes and legal changes legal reference uh updates uh uh there was a for the special instructional program 6171 some grammar updated legal reference and fixing some of the cross references remedial instructions 6171 again legal references and gramat grammar fix policy 61712 talented and gifted I believe we're going to have to discuss again at the uh we're going to be bring that up at the policy meeting and 6300 uh the legal references were updated and you had the uh new bylaw associated with roles of a committee chair uh for second reading Tom pointed out two you know uh one capitalization requirement and one typo and he had a question regarding administrators and unless I'm you know not understanding it administrators in our vernacular has basic Ally been those of a I would call a supervisory or leadership position yeah yeah members of the administrative leadership team okay so it's uh rather you can't identify specifics because those uh how should I say it titles and terms can change but so that's what administrator the administrators referred to in that policy just what George said so can we can we phrase it the way George announced it which is what administrative um I'm sorry you were saying lead leadership team yeah because administrators call is calling out a position that's really not a position it's not the N administrator isn't okay administrated team okay to meet's a little clearer anyone else have a comment are you going to discuss it again in committee or Karen or I don't know it was a first reading so it'll be no it's a second read second second reading yeah the original was on the fall right so what would you what would you think we could we could go back to the committee I mean administrative leadership team's a little bit broader because that could be other staff members and I think this was more focused on actual administrator someone who holds an administrative certificate I think that's pretty standard education language I don't think it's you know okay so always if you want to make a motion later on Tom you can but for right now yeah and I then I just is that it that it's up to you Karen I'm not sure no all right no no no um we can right we can wait for a motion I'm not uncomfortable with it you can leave it the way it is okay great and then I just want to say this is I didn't know where to put it whether it's new business or what was it I had the uh Good Fortune to work the snack table at the talent show on Friday and um um it's I I love it this like the fifth time I did it I mean the kids are they're funny when they come up to get the candy or whatever but the big thing I want to stress and it's it's happened every single time please thank you may I they don't push they don't shove even at half time you know half time at inter that's what they at intermission you know they stood there they waited they L they it's a it's a tribute to the amilies and to the school I mean that kind of thing in that pandemonium is like really special that's all like I said they're they're a who they really are Karen has her name in the program and everything she's a Cornerstone of the talent show service yes I mean George saw me at intermission I took a picture I almost put it on Instagram did you really I didn't cuz I know you wouldn't like that I do have I do have the photo there was a long line Karin was very composed and handled herself beautifully but that's fun fun okay other questions for Karen um on the agenda pile uh number 37 it says first reading should that say second reading oh that's why I was thinking it was because we have 36 is a first reading 37 is a first reading which is why I was assuming they were first readings um but maybe I thought we put the bylaw on for a second the bylaw is a second reading it was just the one you were saying Karen I thought you were was that the bylaws yeah okay that's all I was checking yep thank you we're fine then okay okay got it okay thank you um okay Danielle okay so uh we had a um community relations committee meeting on February 27th and it was myself George Tom and Ann you were there briefly in the beginning um we spoke about continue continuing to um for our strategic planning uh dates that are coming up I know that um the district keeps sending out things on every Friday and uh I know that there's been many invites and letters gone out to different organizations I think we had about 39 38 or 39 RSVPs I think that was reported and obviously we're still going to keep getting more in we want to keep track of the RSVPs that way um just that we so we we know how many people to expect because the first one I think is going to be in person it was actually like low 30s but we're hopeful that it continues to go we continue to advertise it yep so um so so far so good um we're also looking at um just putting it out there for for everybody that the district climate survey will be coming out at a further date but just keep your eyes open in your emails um and then the next meeting is going to be for February 25th um at 400 p.m. via zoom and then ask for for the PTO um liaison so Wizards are kicking off so it's a huge thing big big deal very exciting tickets do get sold out usually so everybody if you're listening like definitely get your tickets now um it's it's a lot of fun um I know I'm volunteering I'm sure you're volunteering as well at the snack table Yeah so it's it really is a lot of fun for everybody so I hope that um they do sell out once again but I want to say stress like definitely get your act fast and get your tickets now um they ALS so the PTO is going still doing their crock poot meals and still doing their year round spirit wear so that's a big deal they are also going to be doing a really fun thing coming up um it's going to be like a a popup kind of assemblies let me see here it says pop kids assemblies are coming up which is going to kick off more uh new fundraisers so this is going to be happening I think around February I think it's February 24th and um just keep your eyes and ears open this is brand new so um I'm not too sure on what exactly to expect other than they're going to amp the kids up and then we got to send out emails I'm I'm not really too sure but to sounds fun April 2 or February 24th just know to keep your eyes open for that as well for the um those types of assemblies and that's it okay um I don't see that meeting on the on my calendar so I don't know are the meetings are we putting them on the maybe that this meeting isn't on the calendar Community it it should be on the on the calendar should be check yeah check and see and see if I'm on that okay Crystal um nothing to report this month the technology committee did not meet but we are determining a uh meeting date for February TBD okay sorry Christ okay okay an I don't know I have a problem I flipped to the calendar so I to flip back no that's okay um I think I have it queued right here uh so um student achievement and curriculum committee met on January 22nd um still adjusting at a new year and the new you know like really January 22nd that was last month uh so um we had an update on the after school um classes that will be running um and that's uh you know at Millington and at Central um it's meeting once a week uh and it is uh you know just an opportunity for students who uh need skills enhancement in certain areas to be working with teachers um so that will be I think starting right now it's running uh there's an update on the new math program uh which we will be adopting for next year uh so basically the current program the determination is that uh the progress in our math uh has been stagnant and um a change was necessary so we are moving to a new program we were with the big Ideas program for our textbooks and our workbooks we're moving to a program program called Ready math that is complementary or works with the I ready program which we have been utilizing uh in math and uh Ela for Diagnostics the last two years um and I believe they're piloting the ready math uh in classrooms already because oh they're not George I felt like a little snippet of something maybe I'm wrong yeah no we we've been sharing with teachers and having professional devel because it came home my daughter said oh they might be moving to a new textbook uh so that is something that they'll be working on with the purchase of the program comes professional development support for the staff uh and multiple training sessions for next year uh and the teachers and the grade level teams um we're given an opportunity to share questions in advance with Dr Jones prior to the ready math team coming into work with the teachers and speak about the program uh so that it it's just an attempt to um make sure that the communication with what the teachers concerns are switching into a new program are being addressed uh as they move to this program uh the PD schedule for February 13th uh it's focused on the multi-tier systems of support uh we are continuing to use the Magnolia Consulting um to provide training in this area um looking at maximizing small group instruction in the full classroom um and uh there's also going to be Wellness opportunities which are voluntary for the staff uh during the day uh we had a review of the preschool for next year as you are aware uh the recommendation from um Miss cologne and the special education department is that we move to three preschool classrooms uh to meet the needs of our special education population and to maintain the ratios which are necessary for the uh integrated classroom uh preschool classroom um so that um the applications for the preschool general education students have gone out the places were selected in a a very thorough random process um and uh parents were notified uh of the selections there is a weight list if people are interested um and one of the nice things was this was done early enough for people who were not able to get a spot in the program to then seek out opportunities in other local programs uh we had a discussion of um a parent survey uh for improving student attendance uh and uh we also talked about um a book vending machine idea uh which was just uh you know like possible incentives for the younger students uh there was a parent information session on January 22nd for the preschool um process and in classroom uh the district has provided all the requested documentation for CAC um and that was that was basically the meeting uh and then I also attended a meeting I just have to switch screens uh for the shared services committee with the high school hang on that report okay so the wung Hills uh shared services regionalization feasibility study Advisory Group that is the title uh met on Thursday January 30th uh to receive an update from the project research team uh from the Rowan regionalization uh Institute the researchers shared the progress made on data collection and the next steps in scheduling interviews for superintendant business administrators curriculum directors special services and faculty they also highlighted uh the ongoing work in evaluating facilities transportation and demographic projections hang on one second my screen just went very funny all right the group plans to communicate with the public through local media outlets and a proposed uh Public Town Hall in early April local media I believe is the echo um the study uh process remains on schedule to have a preliminary draft report presented to The Advisory Group by May once the draft report has been presented the next steps in the process will be determined uh and I will just say that um it's a very uh informative thorough process the meetings uh so I you know I'm pleased to represent us in that process thank you any questions for an okay Tom nothing to report uh although I do have one augmentation to your report on the Sterling Street Fair just got notification that the Commerce the Chamber of Commerce has uh put in for Sunday April the 27th although it needs to be approved by the township Administration probably okay awesome thanks sure thank you Katie okay um the um buildings of grounds committee met I don't have the date here but we met it was myself it was Tom Karen no no Danielle I'm so sorry Danielle um Robin George and Mark uh our buildings and grounds supervisor uh we went over the buildings and ground committee responsibilities and we decided to because we have the upcoming um 5-year plan um meetings we want to kind of see what's being projected to do that and make sure that when we when we update it that we are in line with the new you know objectives that are going to come out of that um because they basically currently are are more than adequate but we want to kind of get the feedback from the community before we make any further adjustments uh we had an update on qack we had our walk through with the uh County Business administrator as previously discussed and there is a site visit also scheduled on February 12th um then uh the capital Improvement projects from last year the stage lighting has been um kind of finally has gone through and it has been done and then also there was a um structural in um investigation that happened at uh Central um there were some concerns of water damage and we were happy to find out that um the the uh materials in that building are safe there's no um asbestos or anything that would be concerning that is completely safe it was you know it was deemed structurally sound and also um you know safe so that was really good news um they also went over um some of the Winter Break Stuff Central had some painting done and uh the districtwide paint uh disinfecting and sanitizing filter changes is um using those electrostatic machines because we've had a very rough winter with flu Co what have you so they really are trying hard to keep things as clean as possible um the uh what else the um Millington there's um there was some tree damage and we are going to put the the the roof units that were um damaged we're going to hopefully put them in line with the rod repairs this summer um and that unfortunately we also um it was discussed and I'm sure you'll give us some further uh when we put the rod grants out for bid again they came way over budget and so unfortunately we are now waiting for feedback from the from the state to see if we can go out to bid differently um because they are you know I think our budget was $200,000 and they were like $200,000 over bid oh excuse me it was $200,000 over the bid so um obviously that's you know we we know the value of the work that needs to be done and that $200,000 over is just irresponsible so we are are working to get that done and we also got an update um when Millington had the gas issue turned out it was in the road psng came in it was it was just a broken part in the pipes in the road they dug it up fixed it and fortunately it was not at a cost to us so that was good news and then finally um the Gaga pit at Gillette um they decided the location for it it's going to be on the cement area and that way gym classes can use it the kids can use it at um recess and all different ages can use it so that's really exciting and that was donated by the Ed foundation so that should be done in the spring um switching over to the lill Ed Foundation um let's see uh on February 7th they'll be we we're having a um cookie fundraiser currently and the the orders were closed uh the end of last week and the the cookie uh pickup the cookie set decorating sets were picked up on February 7th in the library vestibule from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m uh Force spring Force signups start next week and the classes begin March 25th there's some really cool classes um and we're really pleased that the majority of our courses are taught by L Hill staff as opposed to bringing in outside vendors we we like to keep it local so that makes us really happy and then uh so the classes begin March 25th and they run through the end of May I think the first week in um June is to cover um if there's any cancellations or anything and uh we have on uh on the agenda um we're asking to approve number nine which is uh two grants one is for um a master class which is really cool it's for the Central School band students they learned a piece this winter and um he was supposed to come in in January but unfortunately had to be rescheduled to April but um he's coming in to offer a master class with this with the band students and he will provide them feedback and teach them Innovative learning strategies and it's kind of a wonderful opportunity for them to have learned a piece of music and then to actually meet and learn from the composer so that was a really exciting one and then uh we also don't have it on here there's another item up for approval as well and I don't oh it's the standing desks uh for Mrs um Riley's class um and that's just very basic it's um to help kids have move around and it's very Dynamic for in the classroom and finally May 9th is U Save the Date for our color run this was a huge huge success last year the kids love it it'll be again at uh Billington it's for all the students in our district um the tickets you know the price of the tickets go towards you know Long Hill Ed Foundation grants um there'll be food from food trucks there'll be a DJ and lots of powdered dye that the kids get to throw at each other we get to throw it was so much fun last year and people definitely had uh fomo if they didn't get to go and they saw pictures of the kids you know and parents and the children walking around town oh yeah no I ended up you know some of the uh volunteers ended up at an establishment in town and we were covered head to toe and and that was was the Talk of the Town when we ran into people it's a wonderful event I encourage everyone to go it's the kids had a blast and uh it's a good time so that is all thank you any questions for Katie okay um I'm just going to add just for good measure committee wise that Personnel will be meeting uh this Thursday and that's it for me we will go to superintendent report okay thank you we did have a rough month with attendance we're hopeful the has run its course in the Long Hill schools and that February will get us back on course the website has been updated with the data from January we've been keeping that data uh prominent on the website and our attendance matters web page um you know throughout the year uh also a survey went out today uh for parents asking about attendance and ways we're trying to gather as much information as much insight as possible so we can help support students and families and making sure they're coming to school not sick but coming to school last Tuesday um we have a few highlights actually of activities that weren't disrupted by the flu in January including last Tuesday 18 Central students performed in the regional honors band concert at watching Hills the group's composed of top seventh and eighth grade musicians from the four sending districts these students spent a great deal of time rehearsing during their free periods at school with their classmates and music directors also had dress rehearsals and other um rehearsals at the high school along with their fellow students and musical director c s so thank you to Mrs shipon for her extra effort in supporting this tradition last week Central hosted the New Jersey school cons Consortium general knowledge and competition both our JV and varsity teams took second place strategic planning as has been mentioned tonight is approaching quickly and I encourage all members of our school Community to participate please help us plan by uh rsvping and letting know which sessions you can attend the invitation is posted promp prominently on our District's homepage watching Hills held its annual curriculum night for parents of the current e8th graders on Thursday night and the following night as mentioned uh the ptoo held their annual talent show which was a huge success in the high school's Performing Arts Center for the pto's next fundraiser also mention this evening the Harlem Wizards will be performing at Watchung Hills on March 5th uh each school got a preview uh today with our visitor from the Wizards and the kids really enjoyed that uh also want to thank the LF for sponsoring the grants on tonight's agenda uh Robin's also going to mention this but the NJ dooe has made February love the bus month to recognize school bus safety and show appreciation for the drivers the AIDS and transportation staff and the state ask everyone to wear yellow on February 12th uh the basketball season unfortunately came to an end in the second round of the playoffs uh but each team had a very strong season it's great to see and now we're on to softball baseball and track as a followup to the qack equivalency waiver that was approved at the board meeting um at in January early January we submitted the formal waiver to the county qack visit as mentioned again tonight was is scheduled for February 12th uh we also have a resolution approving an anticipated placement of another seeing eye puppy which would take up residence in the Millington main office we're looking forward to that hope it works out last I want to know two retirements on the agenda I want to thank Linda sepi for making a difference in students lives for the last 15 years as a middle school math teacher will'll miss her and though here for a shorter period of Time Mrs cologne uh significantly improved our special services department and enhance the experiences of students and families in the district wish them both the best in their retirements and of course we're going to invite all the retirees uh to come to the meeting in June so that we can wish them well and that's it for me this evening thank you okay thank you any questions seeing eye dog thing is interesting like I feel like I got a puppy and then told everyone not to get a puppy because it was so difficult but the seeing eye dog seems to be like uh contagious and uh Peter made an appearance talent show very excited about that quite an appearance yes okay business administrator report okay so February like we said is love the bus month so we want to show a little love to our bus drivers who spend their time making sure our students get to school and back safely we have to say there's been huge improvement over last year and I think we have some really nice bus drivers this year that's great I think we did it last year but they were really working out this year we also want to recognize who work with student transportation in the offices um behind the scenes to make each day run smoothly so I want to thank Natalia espot who is our transportation coordinator and answers a lot of our phone calls and sends emails and uh School messenger alerts um Jack Harnett who did most of the routing that which the routes have are really way better this year um and Amber Jimenez who is now in the office and she's taking all of our calls after 4 pm so thank all of them as well well of our school secretaries and our principls who get the kids on and off the bus and and find lunch boxes and all those kind of things that happen um as we said uh February 12th is where yellow in honor of the St um update on the rod brand so as Katie mentioned and Karen mentioned um the rod grants we did go out for this second bid they all came in over budget about 200,000 over budget and so you'll see on the agenda that we're rejecting the bids the good news is I did get a call back from the state which is what we were waiting for in committee and the state said now that you have done two bids we can now use a state contract vendor so that's very nice so Mark already was in the process of getting bids there um rather quotes um they take a little bit longer to get they also are having a supply issue and getting us numbers but it should work to our advantage so I'm I'm really not too disappointed with this okay okay um budget highlights so I did put together a whole bunch of things to tell you about the budget um um we met in finance um and we're talking about the budget for 2526 and our primary focus remains on maintaining programs while addressing Rising costs so one of the things that I want to talk about are some of the impactful items that they tell us to anticipate our health care increase as between 12 and 15% okay so that's a big number um our insurance tells us to anticipate 15% um transportation did come out that the CPI for this year is 3.57% okay so again over two salaries contractually for our teachers are at 3.1% for administrators they're at 3.4% and our prit contract for our custodians maintenance people is 3.4% so remember the 2% that we all talk about all of these things are big numbers in our budget and they are all over way over two okay not even close to two um so one of the things that we're trying to do within the budget so I'm going to lay out a few things that we're trying to do none of this is written in stone but this at least will give you a little preview of of what we're trying to put in there we're trying to maintain all current positions that and add in a new prek teacher for the new section of prek and prek power professionals to support our growing Early Childhood Program um we have a low enrollment bus route and and I'm thinking about talking to Mr sty over at Wun Hills and seeing if we can eliminate that and move some of the children onto another bus now granted this is a triple tier bus route we'd eliminate one tier it still is a double tier bus route so it's not a huge savings but it is a savings okay um the multi-tiered system of support mtss Magnolia right and our steam program we're going to fund through our federal grants through um Title One title two and title four okay and I'm still looking at funding for payto playay and field trips um because with the increase in number of students that qualify for free and reduced price meals this also increases our cost for children who are getting free um payto playay for athletics free field trips um a bunch of other things uh that we we want to keep in the budget but we have to see where that number is uh for Revenue considerations um we're putting in capital and maintenance reserves to support key facility projects including upgrading hvacs and some potential Renovations including a renovation of the Middle School library um we have some security enhan enhancements being planned for our buildings uh that we can do through the emergency Reserve okay we have money there um we are increasing our prek tuition Revenue if we open up that third inclusion class that allows us to take in about 16 more tuition paying students that helps upset the cost of that class state aid hold is expected to remain flat but we do know that we're probably going to have reductions in transportation Aid and extraordinary Aid um transportation because there are less students that are special needs riding our buses and extraordinary Aid because we have less out of District placements so well that's good for us for Revenue it doesn't give us the money back for Extraordinary Aid um the district has Healthcare adjustments available along with bank cap from prior years Bank cap allows the district to to exceed the standard tax levy when necessary as permitted by state regulations given the financial pressures we Face we may need to utilize these adjustments and many neighboring districts I've checked with all of Morris County as well as Greenbrook Warren Berkeley Heights New Providence chadam surrounding ones to see what they anticipate doing almost all anticipate going over 2% um next steps we're having budget discussions are going to continue with the finance committee we have meetings on February 26th and March 5th the preliminary budget will be presented for board consideration on March 17th and board members will receive a copy of the budget in advance along with a copy um an accompanying video presentation once you watch the video presentation you have get a copy of the budget I ask that you please any questions give me a call you want to come sit with me I'd be happy to sit with you um hopefully we'll come up with a really good strong budget that will lead us into the future years but with with all this going up the other one that I am a little bit concerned about um all of our suppliers are telling us that supplies are going up 6 to 8% and that was before they announced any tariffs it's it's going to be murder Mur yeah there any questions great um are we getting any feedback about because of the tariffs potential tariffs I should say um that some of the construction cross could be affected and things like that cuz some of the things I yeah I'm not getting any feedback I am concerned about Supply costs I'm concerned about our gasoline costs our energy costs you that yeah if you look at what the news was saying today Mexico currently uh applies a tariff to us and what has happened by the president's actions is they've agreed to reove tariffs on goods sold into this country so anything coming from Mexico will be actually cheaper if the tariffs remain remain off on both sides and I think you might expect the same thing out of Canada and we some of your expenses that you're expecting to go up might not may not it's all the future we don't know I just I ran home in between that just to listen to the news on that I thought that was going to be for one month and then after a month they were going to it's a negotiation period yeah so we'll see all right just yeah political the tariffs for Canada were announced they formalized different Lumber fruit vegetables cars you name it they got it so we'll see we'll see it's a it was just said by TR that it was going to be held up just whatever it is it's nothing this will be uh it's something breaking news quite often y okay so any other questions for Robin okay um any comments from the public on agenda items okay um all right let's go to resolutions Karen will you move in the minutes item number one so move second any questions roll call please Mrs Butler yes Mrs daily yes Mr grov yes Dr Mah yes M mclenon yes Miss nist yes M case yes okay Danielle will you move in financials numbers 2 through 17 so moved second any questions roll call please Mrs Butler yes Mrs daily yes Mr grov yes Dr Mah yes abstain from nine sorry uh Mrs mandon yes abstain from eight n and 16 please miss m Excuse me yes case yes um Crystal removing Personnel items number 18 through 33 so moved second pick your poison Daniel okay any questions I just want to um acknowledge um Jerry um leaving she she definitely as a parent with three children that have IEPs um her her you know her presence has definitely been felt and for the better and uh I we will miss her and appreciate all the hard work she's put in thank you okay roll call please Mrs Butler yes Mrs sty yes uh Mr grov yes Dr Mah yes M mlon yes nist yes this case yes um where did I go and we move in curriculums number 34 and 35 some questions roll call please Mrs Butler yes Mrs Mr grop yes Dr Mah yes Mrs McCannon yes M nist yes case yes um Tom will you move in policy items number 36 to 38 so move second second any questions okay roll call please Mrs Butler yes Mrs Daly yes Mr Groff yes Dr Mah yes M McCannon yes nist yes Mrs case yes uh Katie we move in other items number 39 to 43 so move second any questions I just have a question um I you know I don't have a child in the school so I don't know the Art to Remember fundraiser what what is that sounds so unique what is what is that does anybody know um basically the art projects that they do in art class you can you can get it on a mug you can get a it's a great way to spend money on Grandma and Grandpa okay nice okay yeah thank you thank you it's Mother's Day and Father's Day gifts for my parents okay okay great all right roll call please Mrs Butler yes Mrs Dy yes Mr grov yes Dr Mah yes Mrs mclenon yes nist yes Okie doie all right items for discussion any unfinished business well I guess this would come under unfinished business it's again something I should have wrote up in governance guys it's really important you get the transition reports in I know I'm singing this song but uh you do it once and then after that there's only like a little section you have to be update or or the person who follows you will update and I think you have to like think about it uh you're fortunate if you are the you know have served on the committee or a chair of the committee again but somebody coming in brandy dandy new and not knowing you know where where they can start or what they should be doing it's it's a great Aid and it it really would be it really is very very important it really is okay any other unfinished business new business I have okay in a committee discussion held uh it was thought that a board member should not be allowed to uh donate an item of any cost to the district and that it wouldn't look good um my question is do we think that that should be true should board members be allowed to donate of their own volition to the vment of the district one way or another and if the answer is no and uh no offense is meant by this should a board member be in charge of allocating a a nonprofits contributions to the district you seem to be not working hand in hand I'm not on the committee that um I I am the President of the lill Ed Foundation we have a committee that is the grants committee and they are the ones who approve the grants so it is directly done that way so to avoid the look of impropriety okay and this is not a personal attack I'm just looking oh not in any way but just wanted to make that clear because that was a discussion amongst ourselves in the Ed foundation and it was it was felt that for that specific reason for for to look above board to the community it would I would remove myself from that um to ensure that it's fair and safe and legal it sounds like a question for uh New Jersey school boards uh we could follow up and ask I don't know offhand about an individual member making a donation uh but I do do know from trainings that we've had recently with Charlene Peterson that the um New Jersey school boards and then the um the group that uh makes the judgments about what we as board members are and are not able to do I have determined that board members May sit on the uh Foundation boards and may sit on the PTO like you could be a PTO Executive Board member um the uh the caveat with that is when you're going in and out of the school you know there's communication with uh guidelines uh you know I know no one hear is uh PTO president so it's okay but if there were to be you'd have to communicate with the superintendent regarding that you know and so on yeah so I I know the answer to second question is it it is allowed to be on the on the foundation but I don't know the first one we could follow up and ask yeah I'll I can ask Charlene well we could follow up I don't I remember I mean I'll say Melissa Melissa's Law Group donated and I believe um I believe a former board member as well Don need something from a I don't I I I I apologize I never heard that you're saying it it's not allowed or you're asking should it be allowed it was said in the committee meeting that would not look good if a board member donated to the district oh so that wouldn't be allowed okay what committee buildings and grounds okay it may also be and I wouldn't be surprised uh that it depends on the circumstances and the donations Etc but what let's follow up with New Jersey school board it's just I'd love to learn from possible let's charene before she retires okay she's always good for questions I didn't I didn't okay no uh any other new business any comments from the public no okay um and will you move us into executive session uh the board will enter into private executive session to discuss a confidential student matter subject to the client attorney client privilege action may be taken following the executive session